Fire companies want county funding for radio upgrade

Local fire company officials are calling on the Perry County commissioners to help them buy new radios so their firefighters are equipped with the latest technology when the county upgrades its emergency radio system later this year.

The fire companies have a $1 million grant that will help them purchase many of the radios they need. Each fire company and ambulance service in the county received a portion of the grant to buy new radios.

But in some cases, buying the rest of the radios will cost more than $30,000 over their portion of the grant, fire officials said.

Fire and other emergency services are too important to county residents for the commissioners to leave it to the companies, they said.

"The county needs to make up the difference and get the equipment we need," Byron Worner, Duncannon Fire Company chief, said April 27 while giving a report to Penn Twp. supervisors.

Fading signal

The county's emergency radio system for police, fire and ambulance services is at the end of its life, said Rich Fultz, county emergency management director. The county has been working on the upgrade since March 2015 and the entire system could be ready to go before the end of 2016.

"Our current radio system is in excess of 40 years old," Fultz said.

The upgrade is important, including the radios for firefighters, ambulances and police. The current system is so old that many parts for it no longer are made and have to be found on second-hand markets.

The new mobile radios for trucks and handheld radios are mini-computers that will streamline communications throughout the county and with neighboring counties for joint operations.

But they're also expensive. On the low end, one radio costs $780 and the higher-end models -- ones some fire companies want -- cost more than $3,000, according to the ranges given to the county by Comm Pros, consultants working on the radio system upgrades. Motorola is the radio manufacturer.

The county is spending $3.7 million to upgrade signal technology on radio towers and the technology in the communications center in the courthouse basement.

"This is a system that's going to be built to last for a long time," Fultz said.

Last month, the issue came up at a commissioners' meeting when Marysville officials asked what was available to help their fire company.

"We never really bought any equipment for the municipalities before," Fultz said.

He understands the difficult position fire companies are in with limited money, but the county's emergency services budget isn't large enough for the county to buy radios for everyone.

Radio-free Perry

Duncannon Fire Company needs 38 radios between their firefighters and truck-mounted models, Worner said. Replacing all the radios would put them over the $99,970 they received from the grant. Total cost would be about $150,000 with installation costs.

Fire companies that have more equipment or want higher-end radios are going to pay more, he said.

That's also why they're asking for help from the county, even if it's a long shot.

"We pretty much believe it's not going to happen," Weaver said.

The other issue, said Worner, is lower-end models could be obsolete in several years. It's a situation that Dauphin County's fire companies had to deal with when they upgraded, he said.

Fultz said even mid-level radios would be good.

Not every fire company is struggling to buy its radios, said Wes Smith, Blain Fire Company treasurer.

It received about $60,000 for its fire and ambulance services and will be able to get 54 radios. The way it kept costs down was by going with lower-priced radio models, he said. The system itself is already being upgraded, so they felt it wasn't necessary to go with high-end models.

"Any way we look at it, that's an upgrade," Smith said.

County cash

Fire companies have until the first week in June to let the county know which radios they're buying, Fultz said. The deadline is so they can get discounts, and program and test the radios.

In June, contractors working on the radio system, including consultants Comm Pros and Mission Critical Partners, will begin testing, staging and eventually installation.

By the end of the year, the county wants everything operational, but its money is tied up in its project, Fultz said.

"There are additional grant opportunities out there for the fire companies to buy their radios," he said.

Worner said Duncannon has been applying for extra grants, but it likely will buy the radios up to the grant amount and get the rest at a later date.

This year's county budget is too tight for money to help the fire companies, Commissioner Brenda Benner said. The county could look at next year's budget for emergency allotment.